Master of Psychology (Clinical Psychology)/Doctor of Philosophy

To guide students in the development of an applied research project cognate to their area of professional training, in accordance with the current APAC standard that "the project must be designed so that each student is required to undertake all of the steps involved in conducting an empirical investigation or enquiry". The project can take a number of forms, including an experimental single case study, critical review and meta-analysis, critical review and secondary data analysis, a laboratory-based empirical research study, prospective clinical research, or, in the case of PhD graduates enrolled in the Master of Psychology, an article suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed scientific journal of international standing. Students must have at least one research supervisor within the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences.  

Students are required to complete 40 days of placement in the University of Melbourne Psychology Clinic at Blackwood Street, North Melbourne. Students will have the opportunity to observe a range of clinical presentation in adult patients and to begin functioning as a clinical psychologist, under the supervision of a supervisor. Students will receive experience in history taking, conducting a mental state examination, arriving at a case formulation and making treatment plans. Under supervision, students will be given the opportunity to develop competence in the provision of psychological treatments to individuals and (where appropriate) groups. In addition, the subject aims to give the student experience of professional psychology practice, including professional presentation, report writing and record keeping, managing a clinical caseload, and liaison with other professional practitioners.

Over the 40 days, students are required to complete at least 15 hours of psychological assessments and to accrue a further 85 hours of face-to-face contact with patients (assessment and ongoing treatment of adults). Students are required to participate in regular weekly supervision. Supervisors for the Clinic placement will be registered as both psychologists and supervisors with the Psychology Board of Australia (PBA). Students undertaking this placement must be provisionally registered with the PBA and hold current Police and Working with Children's checks.

Students will also be required to attend 10 workshops that address specific clinical skills and are practical in nature.

This subject aims to present major approaches to psychological disorders, in which psychopathology is contrasted with "normal" functioning. Reference is made to various theoretical approaches to the aetiologies of disorders/problems, with a focus on recognising the clinical pictures of common psychological disorders/problems that occur in a variety of settings, including, depression, the anxiety disorders, substance abuse/dependence and neurocognitive disorders

This subject covers a range of fundamental issues in psychological interviewing and testing in professional settings, and may include: the principles of diagnostic decision making and the logic of clinical inference-making; widely used clinical tests of symptoms and personality; test administration and interpretation; the integration of material derived from the patient history with the mental state examination and other sources to arrive at a case formulation.

This subject is organised around four major areas:

• risk assessment and management;
• theoretical foundations of ethics;
• ethical problems and the application of ethical principles to practice, and legal and institutional regulations; and
• codes of practice and guidelines.

The exploration, clarification and possible resolution of selected ethical dilemmas commonly faced by psychologists will be covered and may include:

• assessing and managing client risk;
• psychologist/client relationships (for example, confidentiality,
• boundary violations,
• assessment of dangerousness,
• patient and client rights,
• professional responsibility,
• special groups (such as children, employer-psychologist ethical differences);
• psychologist/institutional relationships (such as state regulation of professional practice, legal requirements, certification, mandatory reporting, guardianship, unprofessional conduct);
• research ethics; and
• personal ethical development.

Specific emphasis will be placed on awareness of cultural diversity and the role of culture in defining and influencing ethical practice. 

This subject focusses on the development of knowledge and skills related to basic evidence-based behavioural and cognitive interventions. A range of learning experiences are included:  lectures, large group discussions, clinical demonstrations, clinical case material, role-plays, and small workgroup experience. Emphasis is on shared experience and cooperative learning based around the students' shared expertise and the total resources available to the larger group. At the end of semester students will attend a full-day workshop aimed at providing them with further opportunities to practice the skills taught throughout the semester. In addition, students undertake homework tasks which they report and discuss via the subject blogging tool. Finally, there are also large class discussions and the opportunity to share information across workgroups.

This subject introduces students who are studying clinical psychology or clinical neuropsychology at the graduate level to the principles and practice of psychological and neuropsychological assessment, covering childhood and adulthood. Current trends in the theoretical understanding of personality, psychopathology and cognitive ability will provide the conceptual basis assessment practice. It will be shown that psychological and neuropsychological assessment is best understood to include all aspects of the clinical encounter which lead to diagnostic case formulation. In particular, the subject content will address the application of techniques derived from psychological science to enhance correct classification of psychological conditions.

This subject provides an opportunity for didactic, case-based and experiential learning in cognitive-behavioural treatment models and techniques. Although the prime focus will be on cognitive-behavioural treatments for adult psychological disorders, attention will be paid to other treatment modalities (eg. pharmacological, psychosocial, etc.) where appropriate. Teaching may be composed of a combination of didactic input, class discussions, role plays and observation.

When people develop psychological disorders, whether in childhood, adulthood, or later life, they do not arise in a vacuum, but, rather, in a psychosocial context. Many individual and cultural factors contribute to this context, and the purpose of this subject is to explore some of these influences, and how they interact with each other. Such an understanding provides the context for relating to clients a whole person, rather than merely focusing on symptoms and diagnosis of disorders. Consideration of these factors is also crucial to the processes of formulation and engaging clients in therapy.

Topics covered include diagnoses as psychosocial phenomena, interpersonal bases of psychopathology and implications for psychotherapy; factors in help-seeking and accessing the mental health system; psychosocial aspects/perspectives on specific disorders or areas of interest such as physical health, ethnicity, cultural, gender, aging and family issues. Ethical issues, theoretical perspectives, current clinical practice and evidence from the clinical research literature are emphasised.

This subject focuses on the clinical manifestation, aetiology, diagnosis, assessment, and management of high-prevalence psychological disorders of childhood and adolescence. The role of systemic and developmental factors in understanding and managing young people’s psychological difficulties are a focus. Current theoretical models of common disorders will be presented. Ways in which psychological disorders manifest at different developmental stages will be discussed, and complexities associated with differential diagnosis considered. Challenges associated with assessment and formulation when there are multiple informants will be discussed. Students will be taught about evidence-based approaches to assessment and intervention for each disorder. There will be a strong focus, throughout, on case-based learning.

This subject focuses on research skills for students undertaking professional training in psychology. Emphasis is placed on the skills and methods that will assist students in the development and completion of their research thesis. Topics may include: major design and measurement decisions; survey approaches; sampling issues; practical management of research; the development of research proposals and theses; and data analysis options.

This subject presents a comprehensive biopsychosocial approach to the examination and evaluation of various competing theories of aetiology; maintenance and treatment of psychological problems/disorders that commonly present to clinicians. It adopts a case-based methodology for examining how theoretical models apply to case formulation and treatment planning for different adult disorders. The conceptual strengths and weaknesses of these theoretical positions will be examined and discussed, and their empirical status will be evaluated.

Students will acquire the capacity to carry out independent research, and will demonstrate the ability to make an original contribution to knowledge in the discipline of psychology. The major difference between the Masters by Research and the PhD is that the former is more limited in scope.

Psychological Sciences hosts a number of well-equipped laboratories in which research is carried out by teams of staff members, often in collaboration with researchers from other University departments as well as affiliated institutions. Many of these laboratories have been successful in obtaining grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC), the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and other external granting bodies. These laboratories are very keen to accept postgraduate students to participate in their research programs.

Students are required to complete 390 hours of placement (equivalent to a 52-day placement) at an external agency, working with either adult or child/adolescent client populations. Field placement activities include clinical assessment of referred cases, case formulation and diagnosis, development of management strategies where appropriate, recording interactions with and about clients, and attendance at relevant clinical meeting/ward rounds.

 Students are required to participate in regular weekly supervision. Students undertaking this placement must be provisionally registered with the Psychology Board of Australia (PBA) and hold current Police and Working with Children’s checks. External supervisors must be registered psychologists, have at least two years of full-time experience as a psychologist following the award of their postgraduate degree, and be a PBA-approved higher degree supervisor.

 In addition students are required to attend, and present cases seen on field placement at a weekly case conference in the Melbourne School of Psychological Science over the course of their enrolment in Clinical Placement 2.

This subject will provide students with an introduction to medications used in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. The subject allows students to understand the biological basis of psychiatric disorders as derived from studies on the mechanism of action of the major classes of psychotropic medications.

This subject is concerned with the examination of aspects of clinical health psychology theory and practice with an emphasis on students developing a critical approach to various clinical and professional practice issues within the context of medical referrals and health and illness.

The subject also aims to foster a sense of professional competence in health settings through the exploration of relevant assessment issues, advanced treatment approaches and complex clinical practice issues.

In addition, the subject will also focus on the assessment and treatment of psychological problems associated with specific medical conditions seen across a range of health settings (acute, sub-acute and outpatients) and across the lifespan.

Students will acquire the capacity to carry out independent research, and will demonstrate the ability to make an original contribution to knowledge in the discipline of psychology. The major difference between the Masters by Research and the PhD is that the former is more limited in scope.

Psychological Sciences hosts a number of well-equipped laboratories in which research is carried out by teams of staff members, often in collaboration with researchers from other University departments as well as affiliated institutions. Many of these laboratories have been successful in obtaining grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC), the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and other external granting bodies. These laboratories are very keen to accept postgraduate students to participate in their research programs.

Students are required to complete 375 hours of placement (equivalent to a 50-day placement) at an external agency, working with either adult or child/adolescent client populations. Field placement activities include clinical assessment of referred cases, case formulation and diagnosis, development of management strategies where appropriate, recording interactions with and about clients, and attendance at relevant clinical meeting/ward rounds.

 Students are required to participate in regular weekly supervision. Students undertaking this placement must be provisionally registered with the Psychology Board of Australia (PBA) and hold current Police and Working with Children’s checks. External supervisors must be registered psychologists, have at least two years of full-time experience as a psychologist following the award of their postgraduate degree, and be a PBA-approved higher degree supervisor.

In addition students are required to attend, and present cases seen on field placement at a weekly case conference in the Melbourne School of Psychological Science over the course of their enrolment in Clinical Placement 3.

This subject focuses on the interplay between developmental factors and psychological functioning across the lifespan. Key developmental tasks and transitions at each developmental stage, spanning from the perinatal period through to the end-of-life period, will be reviewed.  Students will practice applying this knowledge to clinical case formulation. Approaches to engagement, assessment, diagnosis, and intervention at each developmental stage will be reviewed, and ways in which interventions need to be tailored in light of maturational and contextual variables will be discussed. Topics covered will include mental health in the perinatal period; attachment its implications for later psychological functioning; social, emotional and behavioural problems of early and middle childhood; engaging adolescents; developmental tasks and transitions in early adulthood, mid-life and old age; and psychological intervention in the context of dementia.

The overall aim of this subject is to provide a forum for the exploration of advanced therapeutic approaches and complex clinical issues in order to prepare graduates for the transition to working as a professional psychologist. 

A sense of professional identity and competence is fostered through the exploration of advanced treatment approaches and complex clinical practice issues. The subject is concerned with the examination of aspects of clinical psychology practice with an emphasis on students developing a critical approach to various clinical, professional practice and evaluation issues. Students will be given the opportunity to enhance their knowledge of advanced clinical practice issues, including psychotherapy process, treatment approaches for complex clinical presentations, risk assessment and primary prevention approaches. Students will gain critical understanding of public and private sector contexts for clinical practice, and related regulations, policies and procedures relating to service evaluation and quality assurance, supervision, practice management and professional development.

Students will acquire the capacity to carry out independent research, and will demonstrate the ability to make an original contribution to knowledge in the discipline of psychology. The major difference between the Masters by Research and the PhD is that the former is more limited in scope.

Psychological Sciences hosts a number of well-equipped laboratories in which research is carried out by teams of staff members, often in collaboration with researchers from other University departments as well as affiliated institutions. Many of these laboratories have been successful in obtaining grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC), the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and other external granting bodies. These laboratories are very keen to accept postgraduate students to participate in their research programs.